Execution
by Kevinthejace
Summary: Jace Beleren is an esteemed assassin of the Execution corps. When one of his kills is stolen by a mysterious organization looking to kill or ruin killers of criminals like him, he is forced to join Liliana, a transfer from France and hunt down the members of this group and kill them off. Meanwhile, larger machinations loom over their heads of what once was.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness encompassed a lavish manor, lit by moonlight and lamps that cast eerie shadows upon the moss covered walls. The man- no, the killer drew in his breath. He tugged on the steel wire connected to his harness. Steady. Good. He tightened his sweaty grip on two pistols. Orchestral Music could be faintly heard through the walls. Men and women in fancy dresses and suits wandered and danced about the ballroom floor. Large, bulky men surrounded the exits. No doubt hired guns.

The killer peered through the skylight at the crowd below him. He could only see one of his targets. A Russian crime lord. The others, his two personal guards, was nowhere to be seen. The killer produced a glass cutter and made a small hole in the skylight. He released several smoke bombs into the crowded ballroom. As he heard the chaos unravel, he backed up and ran at the skylight. He smashed through the glass, the wire keeping him from going at high velocity. He landed and unhooked his harness. He drew in a breath and ran into the cloud of smoke that now spread throughout the residence.

He squinted his eyes and aimed his guns right at the spot he'd predicted his target would be. He fired. He heard blood splatter and a scream. Male. One of pain. The scream had come from the victim. But, he wasn't dead. Jace ran through the smoke and found the man he'd shot. Not the one. Only a guard.

The killer exited the ballroom and went looking for his target. He encountered and shot two guards in front of his target's study. He kicked the door open. Inside, the corpse of the personal guard laid on the ground. The window was wide open. A shadowy figure held a blade to his target's neck. Jace aimed a gun at the figure.

"Let him go. Unless you want a hole in your head."

The figure spoke, "Oh? But I thought you wanted him dead." It was a female.

"He's my kill."

"You're so petty, Jace Beleren."

"How do you know my name?"

"All in good time, boy." The figure's knife slid across the neck of Jace's target. Blood spilled from it as he was dropped. Jace opened fire as the figure leapt out the window. He fired onto the pavement, but failed to hit anything but stone. She was gone.

* * *

"What do you make of it, Gideon?" Jace asked. He sipped coffee out of a mug. Morning sunlight shone through the windows of a cafe. The bulky greek man that sat across from him made an expression of deep concentration.

"I don't know. The only thing I can think of is...no. That'd never happen."

"What?" Jace looked at Gideon.

"Well, there's this organization that goes about pretty unnoticed and steals kills from professional assassins. We don't know their motive, but they seem like they want to put people like us out of business."

"I'm gonna find this bitch and gut her. No one takes kills from me."

"Okay...on another subject, have you heard about the new agent?"

"What new agent?"

"Josu's little sister is transferring to the Execution corps. Heard she's just as good as you."

Jace snorted, "Sure. No one's matched my body count in years. I'm still offering five million to anyone who kills more people than me each month."

"Maybe you'll finally get a partner. If she's as good as they say, you two will get along fine."

"I don't need a partner, Gideon. She'll just slow me down. Speaking of which, we're late." Jace hopped out of his seat and began his way outside.

"Wait are you blaming me for this?" Gideon followed.

"What if I am?"

"You were the one who wanted to stop by!"

"And now we're late."

* * *

Jace collapsed in his cubicle. Of course, it wasn't for long. A note to him asked he report to the director's office immediately.

"God damnit all." he mumbled.

Jace trudged up the stainless steel staircase that led to Director Ugin's 'office.' He could live there if he wanted to. It's basically a hotel suite. Jace grabbed the doorknob and entered the room.

Ugin's imposing presence still emanated around the office even with his tendency to where baby blue suits. No one knows where he gets them or how many he has. Standing next to him, is a girl with deep...purple eyes? Jace had never seen this person before. Long black hair fell down one of her shoulders, slightly curled at the ends. She wore a black and violet pantsuit, black tights and heels.

"Ah, Mr. Beleren. So glad you could come by."

"Y-you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. It has come to my attention that your last target was indeed eliminated," Ugin stared down at his desk.

"Well, what can I say sir? I-"

"But the killer wasn't you."

"W-what?"

"Don't think I don't know the capabilities and habits of all my agents. You only use a knife if need be. And even if you did run out of bullets, you'd never be able to so quickly and cleanly slit someone's throat." Ugin said, sternly.

"I have a perfectly good explanatio-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Agent Beleren, you are one of my finest assassins, so I'll give you an offer. Either I put you suspension and send you to Tibet for eighteen months,"

"What's the other option?"

"You can swallow your damned pride and get a partner."

"A partner?"

"Yes. And I just so happen to have a transfer needing one. She insists on not doing so, like yourself, but both you and her need each other's help."

"Who is she?"

"This," Ugin gestured to the girl beside him, "Is Liliana Vess. She transferred here from the Execution corps in France. And I want the next target on your list dead in Forty-eight hours or it's your ass."

"Understood." I muttered. I walked out of the director's office. Liliana followed me.

I sat down my the swivel chair. Liliana sat in the chair across from my quaint little desk. I accessed my computer and brought up my hit list.

"Hey, boss." I looked up at my new partner, "Our next guy. Vicente Barboza. Heir to one of the three families that run the biggest drug cartel in South America. Big price on his head. Tell what you know?"

"How do you know what's on my list?"

She half giggled, half laughed, "Oh please. I know you keep all the details on your targets for the next three years."

"Oh yeah?"

She stood up and walked around to my side of the desk, "Oh yeah." she traced her finger along the lines of Jace's suit, "Tell you what. You give me my info and you get more of this."

"More of what?"

She pressed her lips against his. Jace tried to jerk back, but Liliana held him in place. After a good five seconds, she pulled away, "That and more, baby." she turned and strutted out of the building. Jace was so shocked, he could only stare until she was gone.

When he regained control, he exited his cubicle and entered the one next to him, "Josu, what the hell is your sister?"

* * *

"Huh?" the brown haired man stared up at Jace.

"Your sister. What in hell is she."

"Um...human? Look man, I don't understand your question." Josu shrugged.

"I need details. Strengths, weaknesses. History."

"Wait, are you gonna kill my sister?"

"No. She's my partner. And she just offered me sex in exchange for information on our next target. I would estimate she gets to know 78.6% of her targets and associates alike through sexual pleasures and primal urges. She aims for the core of one's instinctual past. You know how I get to know people."

"Yeah. You look up all the secrets in the world on them and draw your own conclusions from that, which are usually correct."

"Well?"

"Fine. I'm only doing this because I know you won't stop picking my brain until I crack. Where do I begin?"

"The beginning."

"Well, as you know, childhood was kind of a shit hole for us. Liliana tried to kill herself four times before she, um...before she was taken. She was kidnapped by a human trafficker when she was fifteen. She was sold into slavery in Europe and didn't come back for three years. She was beaten, defiled and demoralized. She requested that one of her buyer's hired guns shoot her. She only got a week of starvation for that. I asked how she escaped. She said she lied her way out. She began to pretend to have stockholm syndrome after about a half a year. Convince that piece of shit with a fair bit of cash she was into him. She asked to cook dinner for her buyer one night and stabbed him through the throat. She killed everyone of his guards too. With nothing but a steak knife. After that, she went underground in Paris for a year before contacting me again. She joined the Execution corps and has worked there since.

"She also happens to use seduction as her number one way of assassination. She speaks 23 different languages and has mastered 9 different martial arts as well as 15 different weapons that don't include guns."

"What about her personality?"

"Okay, now I'm starting to get the feeling you're stalking her."

"Everyone does when I pry them for info."

"Well, she has a near insatiable blood lust. She's pretty paranoid of those she doesn't trust and is pretty selfish. She also really likes freaking people out or turning them on. I'd be careful if you piss her off."

"Thanks, Josu. I'll have a full profile on likes, dislikes and attributes by tomorrow."

"You really scare me, sometimes." Josu said.

"Good. You always taught me fear is more priceless than any other emotion the human mind is capable of."

* * *

"Well, Liliana, I have yet to see how well you handle yourself in a fight," Jace said, the next day. Both of them and Gideon wore workout gear. Standard issue for combat training. White tank tops, grey shorts and a pair of cushioned gloves, "Many say you're the best. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but Gideon here is the best hand-to-hand combatant we've got and I'd like to gauge your skill for myself."

"Sounds fun," Liliana smirked, "Should I beat him to death or leave him on the brink of it."

"Don't think it'll be that easy." Gideon chuckled.

"Brink of death. We still need him to train rookies."

"Aww. That's dull."

"Dull isn't bad."

"Sure, old man."

"Hey, I'm only 22!"

"Well you need to work on...that," Liliana gestured to Jace's general face area, "Don't worry. It can be fixed."

"Just fight already."

Liliana wasted no time and had four scars from sharpened fingernails on Gideon's face in half a second. Gideon stumbled back. She turned about twice, kicking, then tripping him. Gideon grabbed her leg and easily tossed her across the foam mats they fought on. Liliana tore a staff off a weapon rack and ran, readying a strike.

Gideon blocked the attack with his bare arms, "I thought this was supposed to be hand-to-hand."

"Always use what's available to you. That I learn without a teacher." Liliana went for an overhead attack. Gideon caught the staff. Liliana yanked on it, but once she knew it was hopeless, she hopped onto it and jumped again, flipping over the muscle-bound man. She landed a blow with her elbow in his side. Jace stared in awe as Gideon fell, doubled over. She picked up the staff and aimed the end at Gideon's windpipe.

"Hm. Well done. It appears that you are indeed as good as they say."

"All legends come from some truth, Jace. Sometimes it's better to take people's word for it." Liliana dropped the staff and walked over to him, "So how about that job."

"You'll get your information."

"When?"

"We have less than twenty-four hours. How about now."


	2. Chapter 2

When I say be careful, I mean try not to splatter blood everywhere. We want to keep this as secretive as possible. A shoot out would not be good for our records." Jace looked sternly at Liliana.

"Yeah, yeah I hear you. No excessive kills and no shoot outs. Got it." Liliana responded to Jace's seriousness with a playful smirk.

"We have twelve points of entry to Barboza's harbor. There are gunmen posted at five of them I suggest we go through the back exit. Taking out the guards with knives should prevent anyone from hearing and we'll gain a stronghold."

"Why can't we go through the roof?"

"Think about it. When we land, there will be guards on all sides. We'll be surrounded."

Liliana signed, "I suppose that's true. Let's just do this."

Jace slipped on a faceless black mask.

"What are those things?"

"Doesn't let them see your face. Also makes you sound like a nightmare with the voice modulator. Here." Jace tossed Liliana an identical piece of headgear. She bunched up her hair and put hers on.

Jace and Liliana rushed behind their targets like shadows. Before a second's time, blood dripped from their blades. Jace drew his dual pistols and executed two gunmen on either side.

Liliana slashed through her first attacker and shoved throwing knives through the heads of two more.

Jace whacked hit the butt of his gun into an enemy and pumped more mercenaries full of lead. He walked up to another and pressed the barrel of his right handgun against his head.

"Tell us where Barboza is." Jace said, voice distorted.

"I'm not tellin' you nothin'." the man said. Jace drew a knife and slashed down his shoulder blade. He cried out in pain.

"Then would you prefer to die in painful agony?"

Liliana's blade plunged through the necks of more of Barboza's henchmen. She looked at him, "Break his arms!"

"Tell me."

"No! We don't turn on one another!"

"Don't try to take the moral high ground!" Jace shot the man through the gut, "You have until you bleed out for me to save you. Tell me and I might consider it."

"Alright! Alright! H-he's in Mexico! A countryside safe house!"

"ADDRESS!" Jace dropped his notepad and pen. The man quickly scribbled down an address. Jace's tone returned to an eerie calm, "Thank you."

BLAM!

A hole now ran through his head. Jace returned his gun to his holster and grabbed his notepad and gestured for Liliana to follow.

"Damn. Never knew you were so ruthless in the field."

"I take my job very seriously."

"I find it sexy." Liliana smirked. Jace retained his stoic face, causing Liliana to frown, "You're so stone faced."

"We don't have much time. I'll call a chopper, so I'd appreciate it if you'd scour the place for information. Jot down whatever you find here." Jace tossed Liliana his notes, "We should leave. I thought we'd leave here with less blood."

* * *

Three shadowy figures congregated in an alleyway, next to the busy streets of Mexico City.

"We have confirmation of our next target. Vincent Barboza...and his assassin."

"The boy from Russia?"

"Yes. This time, we don't let him go."

"Where is he headed?"

"A safe house in the countryside."

"Very well."

"Serve Infinity. You must punish these killers for the Consortium."

"I shall fulfill anything the master of Infinity wishes me to."

"Go now. Make these fools repent their actions."

* * *

Jace stalked his target's hideout from the underbrush. Three points of entry. Shadows between the door and floor indicate guards at all of them. Scent of gunpowder. M16's. Smoke from chimney smells strange. Not wood. A fuse. Chimney is rigged with a bomb. Liliana's knives can travel up to sixty-two feet. Smoke bomb would cause confusion and allow easy access to gunmen. Due to the bomb, Barboza must be underground in a safe room. Most likely steel alloy.

Plan of Attack: Kick open door, neutralizing guards. Eliminate guards at back and side door. Disarm chimney bomb and reattach to possible hiding place. Rearm bomb and detonate. Once down there, eliminate last reserves and terminate target.

Jace relayed these instructions to Liliana. They crossed the property unnoticed. Kick kicked the door in, knocking out the two guards and shot the two at the back entrance. Liliana stabbed the two at the side door. Jace looked up the chimney. No bomb? Damn.

"What, no bomb? Looks like your theory was wrong."

"Don't mock me."

"You're lucky I brought these." Liliana set a large brown sack on the table and spilled out remote charges.

"Where'd you get all these?"

"I never leave unprepared." Liliana ripped away a carpet, revealing a steel trap door and began setting the charges. Once her circuit was complete, each charge sparked along the edge of the entrance, "And the great gate is open." Liliana lifted the door and delved into the dark staircase that laid below it. Jace followed.

They both turned on the flashlights mounted on their headgear. There was nothing but solid steel except for the second door at the end of the corridor. Jace let his used magazines drop and reloaded his guns.

Liliana grabbed the doorknob, but it was locked. Jace shot the lock and pulled the door open.

Within, was not Vincent Barboza, but his corps as well as three cloak figures playing poker.

"What the-who are you?" Jace pointed his pistols at two of them.

"And so the sinner at last appears." One of the figures laughed. His voice was gruff and hoarse. Like gritty sediments.

"Identify yourselves." Jace growled.

"We are nothing more servants. The hands of the Infinite Consortium. And our master has decided that deserve to be punished." The man pulled his hood off. He was middle aged with graying long hair and a beard, "I am Tezzeret. Here with me are Baltrice," Another removed hood revealed a red haired woman with multiple scars on her face, "And Ashiok." The last one was a deathly pale man with slicked back black hair and electric blue eyes, much like Jace's own.

"What do you mean by punish?"

"You're a killer, Jace. Killers are the worst sinners and they must be cleansed from this Earth."

"You people are crazy." Jace said. He fired off two shots at Tezzeret.

He raised his right arm in defense. In place of the contact with flesh, Jace heard two plinks and saw two bullets fall to the ground.

"The hell?"

Tezzeret's sleeve fell down to his elbow. His right arm was made of some kind of twisted metal, "That was your worst mistake yet, Beleren. Baltrice, make him repent for his sins."

The redhead tossed away her cloak. Two arm braces spanned her entire lower arms. They were flamethrowers. A crazed smile creeped onto her face. Jace soon realized why. He heard gas hissing.

"Lili, get down!" They both collapsed to the ground as a tiny flame that was released erupted into a field of fire. Once the flames dispersed, Jace fired three shots in Baltrice's direction. Only one grazed her leg. A jet of fire lashed out at Jace. Before Jace could respond, Liliana stepped in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

"I can take the underlings. Go after their leader."

"Right."

* * *

Liliana turned to Baltrice and Ashiok, "I've been looking forward to a real fight for quite some time now." Liliana grabbed at two handles behind her waist and drew two short swords from their sheaths.

"Swords? Are you kidding me?"

"Guns are loud. Flame throwers are inaccurate. Blades are graceful, quick and silent. They define the beauty of death." Liliana scraped the blades against each other, "I'll enjoy this blood bath."

"Who do you think we are?" Baltrice growled, "We are the cleansers of this world and you will show us respect!"

"Make me, bitch."

"Burn, engulfed in my holy flame of the Dragon." A jet of flames exited the nozzle of Baltrice's flame thrower. Liliana slid under the attack and slashed Baltrice's shin as she stood up.

"Holy flame my ass. You aren't a magician, Imbécile."

"Hold still and die." Fire spouted from Baltrice's flame throwers. Liliana nimbly dodged them and sent a disc-shaped sticky bomb flying. It attached to Baltrice's right brace and began beeping.

"The best weapons never require a stationary target." Liliana smiled.

Baltrice tore off her brace threw it at Liliana. She deflected it off her sword and it exploded in the air, leaving her unscathed.

Liliana chuckled, "Nothing you do can kill me. You know, people call me the Goddess of Death. And they do so for a reason."

Baltrice let loose a wave of fire. Liliana ducked under it and slashed at Baltrice's shin.

Baltrice cried out and fell to her knee. Liliana stood up straight, a devilish smile on her face. She swung the top of her foot into her opponent's jaw.

Before she could land another blow, a bullet grazed her cheek. She whirled around to find the source. Ashiok fired at her again, this time missing by a hair. Liliana's smiled turned into an expression of anger. She walked towards Ashiok, slicing through his next shot with uncontained fury.

"No one!" The back of her fist collided with Ashiok's face, "Interrupts me!" She delivered a blow to his gut, "While I'm killing!" A roundhouse kick to the temple, "And gets away with it!" Before she deliver the final blow, flames made direct contact with her back, "Gaaaaaah!" She didn't even need to look back to know those would've been third degrees had she not been wearing this jumpsuit. It still hurt like a bitch.

The sound of gunfire pierced the air. Blood and pain soaked Liliana's body and mind. Her shoulder. Damnit. Liliana spun about and tossed a throwing knife at Ashiok and another explosive at Baltrice. Ashiok shot the knife away, but her bomb landed and exploded on contact. A bloody and damaged Baltrice flew back into the wall.

Clutching her shoulder, Liliana stood back up.

"You're a tough one, aren't you? Unfortunately, the Infinite Consortium not fall to endurance." Ashiok mused as he reloaded his gun. He pointed the barrel at her face, "Too bad."

With a final surge of strength, Liliana sprinted at Ashiok, grabbing her sword. Ashiok shot twice, once missing, once making a hole in her leg, causing her to stumble, but kept going until the edge of the blade dug itself into Ashiok's chest.

Liliana heaved as Ashiok fell over, "Endurance? You're wrong. It's called revenge."

She fell to her knees, breathing heavily.


	3. Chapter 3

Tezzeret escaped through the staircase of the safe house. Jace pursued him, weapons drawn.

Once they were in the field outside the house, Tezzeret stopped. Jace rushed onto the field and aimed for Tezzeret's head, but didn't shoot..

"Tell me something, Beleren!" He shouted, "Why do you think we exist?"

Jace hesitated. He decided to answer, "You believe the world needs to be fixed. You believe it's broken. You do so by killing. Your master gives you targets and you carry out the mission"

"Wonderful! Wonderful! You're everything we hoped you be!"

"But those you kill, " Jace inhaled in the form of uncontrolled gasps and tightened his grip on the trigger, "You kill innocent people. Your Consortium slaughters families. Children! You're all hypocrites."

"Are...are you a survivor?"

"Ever since you destroyed what was left of my life. You wanted to take me. Raise me to be a weapon. For that, I will never, ever forgive you. I watched your men as they cut off my Brother's fingers, one by one. I watched you defile and mercilessly kill my older sister. I watched as you sweet talked my mother into killing herself. I watched you beat my father to death, ripping a nail off every time he screamed. I watched as you drowned a baby out of water! You made me witness everything! All the while, they blamed me for everything."

"That was just business. Nothing personal. Well, as a show of good faith want you with us. We could use talent like yours. You'd get all kinds of benefits. Money, women, power. All we need you to do is give us information on what's happening in the Execution corps."

"Are you stupid?! You want me to leave everything behind again!?"

"That's putting it harshly."

Jace scoffed, "I'm not an idiot. Once you have what you want, you'll throw me out like garbage."

Tezzeret growled, "You're being stubborn, Beleren. Holding onto ancient history. I didn't want to do this, but you've given me no choice." He snapped his fingers. Tens of figures in black jumpsuits and carbon fiber armor rushed out from behind the brush. They all wielded Assault rifles.

Helicopters took off into the air and surround him. The noise deafened him and the blasting winds blinded him. They were all equipped with weapons.

"Overkill much?" Jace shouted over the whirring chopper blades. He shrugged, "I suppose I should repay the favor from years ago!" Without looking, Jace fired his gun. The bullet ricocheted off the roof of the house and went straight for the engine of a helicopter. The vehicle blew up in a fiery mess, crashing into another helicopter, engulfing the land and people next to it in an explosion.

Jace fired off three more shots, all three times hitting engines and causing combustion. Tezzeret's gunmen opened fire. Jace took cover by jumping through a broken window in the house. He dragged the steel door to the saferoom over him as he retreated back into the subterranean level. It smell of burning meat.

He kicked open the door to find Liliana, bloodied and injured, lying on her side.

"Lili!" Jace ran over to her, "Talk to me!"

Liliana coughed, "Jot this down: Learn to block bullets."

"We need to get out of here. Tezzeret has a hundred guns on the ground and a chopper. We'll never make it out alive."

CLANG!

The safe room door had been reopened.

"Can you walk?"

"Barely."

"I'll clear a path, after that, we leave," Jace dragged Liliana near the door and handed her a comm device, "Call for backup."

Jace reloaded his pistols and hid on the edge of the door frame. He peered at a piece of metal. The hall was only so wide, so Tezzeret could only get a few of his men in there.

He whipped his arm around as he fired his first shot, curving the bullet and sending it straight through a head. He turned around to face the oncoming attackers and opened fire. When the enemy got too close, he flipped around one of his guns and struck two of them in the temple with the butt of his gun. He flipped them around again fired three curved bullets, causing them to fail at avoiding them. Guns aren't enough. Liliana's bag of bombs were upstairs. Jace felt a around his pocket. A charge. Not sure what kind, but it'll certainly help. Jace activated the weapon and threw it as far he could. An electromagnetic pulse radiated in a dome that covered most of the gunmen. They all fell, unconscious.

"Well that was a tad Deus Ex, don't you think?" Tezzeret sneered.

Jace didn't respond and instead opened fire on Tezzeret. He fled and disappeared up the stairs. Jace retreated to attend to Liliana's wounds.

"Where were you shot?"

Liliana chuckled painfully, "A lot of places. Just help me pull these bullets out.."

Jace grabbed their supply bag from across the room and dug around it until he pulled out a med kit. He opened it and produced a pair of tweezers, "Here."

Jace began to stand up again, but Liliana reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist.

"What?"

"Do you expect me to do this myself?" she asked.

Jace sighed, "Fine. Tell me where."

"Left shoulder."

"This is going to hurt…"

"Oh please. I've been through much worse."

"Here goes, then." Jace inserted the tweezers into Liliana's wound. She winced.

"So while you're poking around my insides- Argh! Damnit, be gentle."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Anyways, mind telling me your story?"

"My story?"

"Yeah. I assume you already know about me, but I know nothing about you."

Jace ripped a bullet out of Liliana's gunshot wound. She groaned.

"Asshole. Thigh. So?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"My personal history is my own."

"Ah. So your life was a shit hole too."

Jace remained silent.

"C'mon. You can talk to me."

"Why is that?"

"I'm your partner. Ugin put us together for a reason."

"Ugin just shoved me together with whoever happened to be available. You became my partner by coincidence." Jace said coldly.

"I like to think fate wanted to create the ultimate power in the world. The two strongest, smartest, fastest people on earth."

"I don't believe in fate."

"Are you seriously this weak? You can't even tell me about your traumatizing childhood."

Jace ripped out another bullet with startling hostility.

"Damnit! You're so immature."

Jace whipped out his gun and pressed the barrel against Liliana's temple.

"Go on. Shoot me. Show the world just how much of a child you are."

Jace's finger twitched on the trigger as did his eye, "I. Am not. A child. Not anymore." he sighed and removed his gun from her head and placed it back in its holster.

"When I was seven years old, I took my first life."


	4. Chapter 4

"When I was seven years old, I took my first life."

"No."

"Yes. When I was six, I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder call Omnimortiscience. One half allows me to quickly absorb knowledge and form conclusions with observations. I taught myself calculus in preschool. My parents thought I was just a genius."

"You said one half. What was the other?"

"The second half...generated a hormone that causes an insatiable bloodlust. We tried to suppress it. Took every drug out there to calm me down. But it couldn't be stopped. I killed my Chemistry teacher when she accused me of cheating on a test. The test was supposed to be impossible to complete, but I answered every question right. My mind kept telling me they think i'm nothing but a stupid child. An untalented, pompous little kid. I got off scot free because I was a 'mistaught child.' They said I needed to be reeducated. They instead pressed charges on my parents and had my father sentenced to death and my mother to life in prison.

"Eventually, I was adopted by a nice family that respected and cared for me."

"Did the hormones kick in again?"

"No. This time, it was the Infinite Consortium."

"You knew these guys?"

"Not these agents in particular, but I know of their methods. They found out about my condition and tried to steal me away from my new family. They ruthlessly tortured and killed each of them. Even an infant. When they asked why, they were told of my curse. For their next few minutes of life, they only regarded me as a monster. So, in the midst of all the confusion, I ran. But there was no way a child could've escaped trained professionals. So instead, I made sure their souls went straight to hell." Jace's eyes looked empty. There was endless suffering behind his stoic expression.

"What happened after that?" Liliana's voice was soft now. Soothing and kind.

"I spent the rest of my childhood training myself. Teaching myself to hold off the Infinite Consortium. A fourteen year old was capable of taking down an entire gang. During my years in puberty, the hormone was in mass production and I didn't hold back. Had I not stayed in one placed, I could've halved the population of the city by the time I was sixteen. When I turned twenty-one, I was confronted by the Execution Corps. They offered me a job and I've been working there ever since."

"That's rough." Liliana said, groaning as Jace withdrew the tweezers with the last bullet, "How you stay with that straight face, I have no idea."

"Years and years of grief. Sociopathy is a given side effect."

"Well you aren't completely sociopathic. I know you still feel. Somewhere in there." Liliana's fingertips brushed against Jace's cheek. His face turned red just slightly. She let out a painful chuckle, "You're blushing."

"Shut up. Our chopper's here."

* * *

"So you're telling me you failed to kill your target yourself again?" Ugin heaved an exasperated sigh, "What did I say before this mission, Beleren?"

"Forty-eight hours or it's my ass?"

Ugin was about to respond, but hesitated, raising an eyebrow, "Did I say that?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. Anyways, why did you fail again?"

"We were intercepted. Three individuals claiming to be agents for the Infinite Consortium killed the target and attacked us."

Ugin's eyes widened, "The Infinite Consortium?"

"You know of them?"

"You've no idea." Ugin picked up the phone on his desk, "Narset, send this message out to every branch of the Execution Corps out there: Warning. Please raise your precinct security to a code gold. I repeat, code gold. We are on high alert for the Infinite Consortium. Prevent yourselves from hiring any new recruits and our travel ways are on lockdown. Do not answer anyone who tries to get in contact with you and have your agents stay inside the precinct."

"What's happening?"

"The Infinite Consortium is a top threat to the Execution Corps. I'll need all agents to stay inside. We'll provide for you guys the best we can. You're dismissed."

Jace blinked, "A-alright. I guess I'll be going then."

He exited Ugin's office and collapsed in his chair.

"So what did the director say?" Liliana asked.

"All Execution Corps. precincts are on complete lockdown. I didn't know they were this dangerous."

"Yeah. Who knew?"

"Ugin apparently."

"Yo, Jace. Lili." Josu popped his head into their cubicle, "Jura, Rhoka and I were about to head down to the cafeteria. You wanna come with?"

Jace shrugged, "Sure, why not. Lili?" he stood from his chair.

"Doesn't seem entirely repulsive, dear brother." she said, "Hey, beefslab!"

No one answered.

"I'm talking to you, Jura."

"Huh?"

"What's on the menu?"

"Oh, I don't know. We typically just see what's available when we get there."

"Useless. No matter, though. Let's just 'see what's available when we get there.'" Liliana stood up and followed her brother and Jace.

* * *

"Hey, Kallhist. Heard you got your ass whooped by a kid during your last mission." Gideon said as they sat down around one of the many cafeteria tables.

"Who told you that?"

"Revane did."

"That bitch! She's always trying to make us lower rank agents seem incompetent." Kallhist slammed his fist on the table.

"Who's Revane?" Liliana whispered to Jace.

"Nissa Revane is one of Ugin's higher ranked agents. Meaning more pay, more power and more resources."

"But we're better than her, right?"

"Oh, certainly. The reason she's as renowned as she is is due to her partner, Chandra Nalaar. She's crazy good at killing, but always leaves a mess in her wake."

"Sounds troublesome."

"You have no idea." Jace chuckled.

SLAM!

The table fell silent as two women sat down. One, a redhead in a jacket with the collar popped and fingerless gloves. The second, a brunette with green attire and a sheath with a knife on her shoulder.

No one spoke. Until the brunette looked over at Liliana and raised her voice, "You must be the new transfer we've heard so much about. Nissa Revane." she stuck her hand out. Liliana shook it.

"Liliana Vess. Pleasure."

"Too bad, really. Getting paired with Beleren? That's tough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liliana asked.

"Well I mean, look at him. You could easily get someone much hotter. And much happier. He's so depressing."

Liliana began to stand up, but Jace grabbed her wrist under the table and hissed, "Lili, don't. Control yourself."

She sat back down.

"Oh, feisty. I hope that was the attitude you used during your first mission. It would make the failure look better."

"We were intercepted."

"Yeah, by this 'Infinite Consortium.' Chandra and I could probably take them down on our own."

"You'll get yourselves killed." Jace said under his breath.

"Speaking up, are we Beleren?"

"You two don't have to do this. She's only just arrived here."

"I admire you, Beleren, but this Snail-snapper needs to learn her place."

"I hate to say this, but I was expecting more from an individual of your stature," Liliana smirked, "You're just a carbon copy of every high school's basic chienne."

"What? Chandra, what does that mean?"

"Means 'bitch' in French." Chandra, ultimately looked bored.

"Que se passe-t-il si je viens de parler en français pour le reste de la journée de sorte que votre moi morin ne peut pas comprendre un mot damn que je dis." Liliana said while chuckling.

Chandra translated, "She said she'll talk in French for the rest of the night to confuse you. SHe also called you a moron."

"Liliana, what are you doing?" Jace asked, worried.

"Oh relax. I'm just making fun."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, Vess. I can end you." Nissa's voice deepened and darkened.

"Then why don't you show me. There's no way a new recruit could beat a veteran like you in a fight, Chatte."

Chandra opened her mouth, but Nissa stopped her, "I don't even want to know. Fine. How about we go two on two-"

Jace stood up from his seat, "How about we don't fight at all. Nissa, now's not the time to be bullying people and Lili, this isn't the time to be picking fights. We are in the middle of a crisis that could threaten not only our jobs, but our lives as well. Petty skirmishes like this are just weakening us for when the Consortium comes back."

"How do you know they'll come back?" Nissa asked.

"I know because I've dealt with them before. They're all sick bastards. They'll do anything to gain the recognition of their master."

Nissa began to speak, but Jace cut her off.

"Don't ask anymore questions. Let's just...forget about it."

Nissa sat down and crossed her arms.

"Listen. We are the only line of defense between the Consortium and the ability for them to do anything they want. Fighting amongst each other is just going to bring us down. Right now, the Consortium is our only enemy. Forget about Jobs. Forget about organized crime. Forget about rivalries. Our fight is with them."

"Jace is right," Liliana said, "Sorry I called you a cunt."

The rest of the table gasped.

"What? She was making fun of my partner."

Nissa sighed, "I suppose for now we can set aside our differences."

Jace sat down and returned to his meal.

Liliana whispered to him, "You make a good arbiter."

"Thanks."

* * *

"So old man Ugin is afraid?"

"Yes, master. The entire Execution Corps. have gone into lockdown."

"This is wonderful. Proceed to stage 2 of the plan."

"As you wish, Master."

"Don't fail me, Vess. If you do, You're sister's as good as dead."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since the Execution Corps went on lockdown. Ugin finally decided to make the next move.

Jace and Liliana sat in the briefing room alone. Liliana decided to rest her heels on the surface of the table. Jace flipped through his notes, memorizing all his knowledge on the Infinite Consortium.

Ugin burst through the doors and took a seat at the head of the table.

"Liliana, get your heels off the table. Jace, put your notes away." both agents did as they were told, "Alright. I have two teams out doing recon work. I need you two in Rome. Both the Consortium and the Corps have a cell there. The Consortium's is rather new, so I want you to work with our cell there to grab a hostage for questioning. Knowledge is power in this battle and we need to restock on fire power, if you will."

"Who do you suggest we capture?" Liliana asked.

"Doesn't matter. All I want is someone from their intelligence agency."

"You got it." Jace said.

"That's all for briefing. Since you are one of only three ongoing missions, you'll have more than enough support for this. Tech, weapons, reserves. Whatever you need."

"Hey, uh, you have any...you know, new toys in the science division?" Jace stroked his chin.

"Don't know. If you want experimental tech, go ask Teferi." Ugin stood from his chair and left the room as quickly as he had entered.

"New toys?" Liliana raised one eyebrow.

"Teferi is always developing new stuff, but he's kind of a prick and really arrogant when it comes to his creations."

"Most of your cell is made out of arrogant pricks."

"You think I haven't noticed?"

"Whatever. The sooner we go, the less arrogant pricks we'll have to deal with.

* * *

"Why exactly would you think that I give you anything of mine?" Teferi asked in an aloof manner. That was the first thing he said. No greeting, nothing.

Jace didn't answer.

"You look confused Beleren. Has my brilliance bewildered you so much you've lost the ability to speak?"

Liliana sighed, "Alright, you know what, I know you told me not to say anything, Jace, but we're three sentences in and he's already making me want to shoot myself. He's not bewildered by anything. He's confused because it's your fucking job to give us your shit. You make the shit. We use the shit. It's a mutual shit-based relationship."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't refer to my creations as 'shit', newbie."

"Shove it up your ass, cocksucker. And it's transfer. Not newbie."

Teferi sighed, "Fine. I'll show you what I've got."

He gestured to a metal table covered with a bedsheet like material.

He held up a syringe, "Beleren, I think you'll find this suiting you the most. This syringe contains a nanochip that allows to you to establish telepathic links with your allies. If you press this button, you can use offensive telepathy. Digging into your opponent's mind, eavesdropping, that sort of thing." Teferi shove the needle into Jace's arm.

"Ow! The hell?"

Teferi pushed the liquid into Jace and extracted the needle, "It'll take awhile to get used to. Ah, for you miss…"

"Vess. Liliana Vess."

"For you miss Liliana Vess, perhaps you would like a more destructive tool." He handed her long black glove, "This device fires deadly anti-matter rays from the palm and fingertips. If necessary, you can create extensions to your limbs using particle manipulation."

"Nice."

"See? Not shit." Teferi handed Jace a bulky gauntlet that widened as it got closer to the wrist opening, "Jace, this gauntlet, while very bulky, allows its user to use telekinesis and create psionic illusions. They'll be solid, but not real."

"So like magic?"

"I that's what you want to call it," Teferi tenderly picked up a dagger with a strange looking blade, "Miss Vess, I hear you are quite the expert with knives. This dagger contains deadly microbacteria, viruses and parasites within the blade. By pressing this button at the top, you can release the concoction into your opponent. The mixture will cause the victim to rot from the inside out. It's quite horrific."

"Good. Horrific is what I like."

"I also have this addition to your gloves. We couldn't install it internally, so you have to assemble it. This allows you conduct black lightning, a dark matter variant. It climbs metal surfaces five times faster than any grappling hook and could even theoretically reanimate corpses."

"Useful. An army of undead doesn't sound bad."

"And I have two last things for you, Jace," Teferi showed off a left hand glove and a multiple clips of bullets for Jace's guns, "This glove produces a blue flame that, when in contact with someone's head, can erase memories of your choosing as long as you have it burn at the right intensity. These bullets have a gravitational bomb within them. The target's body will be sucked into oblivion and all surrounding enemies will be forced into a giant clump in a matter of milliseconds. Well, be on your way. No thanks needed, I know how great I am."

Teferi stuffed all the gadgets into their hands and shoved them out the door.

"Hm." Jace said, "That went better than I'd planned."

"I suppose we should get started."

"Yes. Our flight leaves tomorrow, so we should pack. Hopefully Ugin has told security not to check our bags."

* * *

"I'm very sorry, sir. It seems there was a mix up between the agents."

Jace sat next to Liliana, who was sitting in a very annoyed fashion. Jace kept rubbing the bridge of his nose as the TSA manager apologized for the very rude and pushy officer who insisted on checking their bags and shouted 'TERRORISTS!' when he saw their weapons.

"It's fine. Can we just get on our flight?"

"O-of course!"

"Finally." Liliana said, "International crises don't wait for TSA."

The two agents stood up and exited the TSA manager's office.

"We're fifteen minutes behind schedule. We still have to get those files from the bathrooms."

"Do you remember which bathroom?"

"Ugin never specified, so we're checking every bathroom in C-terminal."

"Wait, I just got a text. C-21 to C-28 female bathroom.

"That's approximately 5 minutes from our gate. If you go grab the files and I'll go relay Ugin's cipher to the boarding guys."

"If I'm not back in 10 minutes, go check on me. I don't care if you have to enter the bathroom. I don't want to land in the Consortium's hands."

"Fine. See you later."

"Later."

They went separate ways at the C-terminal. Jace went down to gate C-18 and arrived at the help desk for his flight. He looked at the operator.

"My name is Jace Beleren, Executioner ID.23938011311697, Code Name 'Mind Sculptor.'"

"Password?"

"Tarkir."

The chip in Jace's brain started emanating whispers, but he ignored them.

"Welcome, Mind Sculptor. Prepared to receive message."

"B-J F-W-J L-T-N-S-L Y-T W-O-R-J N-S T-W-I-J-W Y-T F-U-U-W-J-M-J-S-I F-S J-S-J-R-D F-L-J-S-Y."

"Understood. Good luck. And hail Infinity."

"What?"

Hands clasped around his mouth and arms. Jace whirled around and rammed whoever was on his back into the desk. Several bystanders gasped.

He grabbed his bag and made a break for it.

"Stop that man! He has a bomb!" the operator shouted towards two airport security guards.

Jace dodged their taser shots and neutralized them with swift strikes to the back.

Several people who he thought were part of the crowd surrounded him and pulled guns on him. Many screamed and began running. The chaos gave him an opportunity to equip his gauntlets and grab his guns.

The Consortium agents opened fire on him. He focused on stopping the bullet fire in midair. Eventually they stopped firing. Jace shot all the bullets back at their sources, taking out six of them.

Jace fired his pistols, taking down two agents and used his newfound telepathic abilities to shove three through a window. He had to go find Liliana.

An incoming attack attempted to strike at Jace from behind. He caught the attack, struck through the elbow and perform a judo throw.

Jace delivered a widespread telekinetic blast.

One agent snuck up behind him and disarmed him. Jace struggled, kicking and wriggling, but failed to break free.

Jace resorted to mental methods of combat, looking through his attacker's mind for a weakness. Anything that might catch him off guard.

"It must have been very frightening," said Jace.

"What did you say?"

"I said that it must have been very frightening."

"What?"

"Waiting for him to come home," said Jace, "Knowing he was drunk. Knowing he was going to hit you again."

"Shut up," snarled the agent. He grabbed Jace by the throat.

"You'd pretend to be asleep," wheezed Jace. "You had your little knife, tucked into bed with you. And every time…"

"Shut up!" yelled the agent. He squeezed.

"Every time…y-you told yourself…you were going to fight back." Jace's vision began to dim.

"Tuck?" said another one of the agents.

"But you never did," whispered Jace.

 _Shut up!_

Tuck let go of him.

A heavy crack echoed throughout the terminal from the end of Jace's gun colliding with Tuck's jaw.

He launched chairs from a nearby restaurant at the next wave of agents. He ran, forcing a powerful blow of force into his pursuers.

Jace ran through the terminal, taking a sharp turn at the pathway to Liliana. He caught glimpse of her battling another group of agents.

"Lili-!" He was able to get that much out before a powerful force swung into his head.

Jace fell to his knees, dizzy and fell over onto his face.

He groaned as the world around him faded into black.

"Jace! Rrragh! Let me go! Jace!"


	6. Chapter 6

Jace snapped awake to the touch of ice cold water splashing over his face.

"What the hell?" He was on an airplane. Zip ties bounds his hands to the armrests.

"Welcome, Jace Beleren."

"Tezzeret," Jace snarled.

"So during your lockdown, I did some thinking and realized, 'Hey! I recognize him!'"

"What?"

"Do you remember February 29, 2008?"

"It was you?"

"Oh, yes. I remember the feel of your sister as clear as day."

Jace tried to stand and struggled against his bindings. His eyes grew wide as his pupils shrunk in a fit of nightmarish madness, "Burn in hell, you damned psychopath! DIE! RRRAAAGH! I'LL KILL YOU! I"LL FUCKING END YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO FUCKED ME UP THIS MUCH YOU DAMNED SHITHEAD!"

"You can try to break those things for the whole flight. I've injected you with a drug that weakens you, so if you want to save your energy, be my guest."

Jace sat back in his seat, "Where's Liliana?"

"She's safe. Different plane."

A phone rang, "Oh, that's for me." Tezzeret pulled out a phone and answered it, "Hello? Yes, we've got him right here. What did I say to him?"

Jace exhaled and closed his eyes in concentration. The pilot. Jace delved into his mind.

You. Help me.

He whispered under his breath, "C'mon, Teferi. Please tell me you let me use mind control."

Jace felt his mental grip tighten. And close. Yes!

Jace's perspective flew into the pilot, up front, looking through his eyes. He moved his hand and pressed the autopilot button. He then caused the pilot to tackle Tezzeret to the ground and restrain him. He used Tezzeret's metallic fingers to cut through the zip ties and escape. Jace delivered a kick to Tezzeret's head, punting the consciousness out of him and went to the front of the plane.

Liliana was on another plane, huh? For now, it's best just to act like nothing's happened. Maybe he could exit the plane guns blazing? No too risky. Speaking of risk…

Jace grabbed the bag with all his weapons and gadgets and held it in case Tezzeret woke.

He could follow them to their cell if he took over Tezzeret's mind. No. What if they found out.

Suddenly, Jace heard radio static. Shit.

"Tezz, this is Baltrice. You all good in there? You missed your hourly check in."

Jace panicked. Shit, shit, shit, shit. Okay, just try and make your voice like Tezzeret's. Jace pressed the button on his radio, "Uh, yeah. We're good. Sorry, I was just, uh...busy beating on this weakling they call an assassin!" Hopefully he didn't over do it

"Heh, nice. Yeah this bitch here was giving us trouble, but we shut her up. I'll hear from you in an hour."

Jace exhaled in a sigh of relief.

He heard something beeping on the radar. Missiles?!

"Nice try, Beleren, but Tezzeret doesn't break in his speech." Baltrice said over the radio, "See you in hell."

Jace turned off the autopilot and manned the controls. There were two of them. Jace let loose a handful of flares before descending and flying lower to the sea. Nothing the missiles were still on him. Despite all his maneuvers and attempts to shake them, they never lost sight of his signature.

Jace looped up and found Baltrice's plane. Maybe he could discourage her if she knew she would die as well.

"If you don't call off those things, you're going down with me!"

"That's fine. My purpose is for the Consortium. If this is one of my duties, then I will gladly accept."

"Are you kidding me? The hell's wrong with you fanatics?"

Jace abandoned the wheel and grabbed his bag and a parachute. He slammed himself against the emergency exit, but it didn't budge. He swore under his breath and punched a roofing panel out with all his might and got on top of the plane.

He cocked his pistol, loaded with the gravitational rounds and put on his telekinetic gauntlets. He let himself slide off the plane as he shot the hull of Baltrice's plane. A field of gravity extended to a large radius surrounding him. Jace was suddenly pulled closer to the other plane. He used his gauntlets to cover the rest of the distance and attach himself to the plane. He carefully and slowly traversed the hull and reached an emergency exit door. He yanked it open with his mind and slipped inside, closing it behind him.

Liliana was unconscious in a chair and Baltrice was standing over her.

The enemy looked at him strangely, "How the hell'd you get here?"

"I punched out a panel, fell shot a gravity bomb and telekinetically attached myself to the hull."

"Cool." Baltrice nodded. She quickly reverted to her murderous nature. She threw a punch, caught by Jace. He pulled her in and delivered a blow to her ribs.

Jace wrapped her up in a lock before shooting down her escort of Infinite Consortium agents.

Baltrice's elbow collided with Jace's head. She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the side of the plane. She opened the emergency exit and shoved him out.

Jace grabbed on the edge of the door and swung himself back inside the plane, kicking Baltrice with both feet in the gut. When he landed inside, he shut and locked the door. Baltrice recovered and socked Jace across the jaw.

Jace scurried behind the front bar as Baltrice grabbed a fallen bottle of wine, smashed it the wall and wielded it as a weapon. Jace went around the other side of his hiding spot as Baltrice approached and telekinetically slammed her into the opposite wall. He grabbed a glass shard and started cutting through Liliana's restraints. Baltrice swung her bottle into Jace's head from behind.

Jace, angered, stood up and charged at Baltrice, only for her to step aside as Jace collided with the emergency exit. His full bodyweight smashed the lock and sent him barreling into oblivion.

* * *

Jace screamed as he sped towards the ground. He fumbled with the parachute he had almost forgotten he was wearing. He pulled the ripcord. A billowing piece of polymer inflated like a balloon and slowed Jace's descent. He sighed in relief. Luckily, they had already been over Italy when Jace unknowingly threw himself off the plane.

He aimed himself for a taxi that had stopped on the side of the road. Once he was close enough, he released the parachute and crashed through the roof of the car. The driver had a small heart attack.

"Prelievo a Roma!" Jace shouted.

The driver didn't respond.

Jace sighed, drew his pistol and cocked it, "Step on it."

The driver slammed his foot on the gas and sped towards Rome.

* * *

Liliana's vision cleared soon after she opened her eyes.

"What the hell? Where am I?"

"Welcome to Infinity, Miss Vess." A figure shrouded by darkness spoke across from her, "Please leave us, Baltrice. I'd like to have a chat with Liliana in privacy."

"As you wish, master." Baltrice bowed and exited the room.

"How do you know my name?"

"Is that really a question, Miss Vess?"

Liliana struggled to move. She was shackled.

"Please understand that your restraining is for the safety of us and you."

"Somehow, I don't believe the part about me."

"Listen, Liliana. We are not your enemy. We are trying to help you."

"Bullshit."

"Alright, well what about Jace? You've been locked up for days, but Jace hasn't even attempted to come after us."

"I'm certain he's trying."

"He's probably long gone by now."

"I'm not an idiot. I know when people are just trying to convince me of something."

The man in the shadows waved his hand. Liliana squinted. She didn't believe what she saw. His hand...glowed? It glowed electric blue as Liliana felt something prying at her temple. She shook it off.

"He abandoned you. He's a coward."

"No! He isn't the kind of person who would leave a comrade behind."

"Whoever said he considered you his comrade."

"What?"

"To him, you're a piece of a puzzle, a pawn in his game."

"You're lying."

"Oh, no. We watch him all the time. He uses people. He's a manipulative, cowardly, sinful killer."

"You're the manipulative one."

"Untrue! My followers are devoted to me because they truly believe in my cause. I am always honest with them."

"Are you shitting me?"

The figure sighed, "You don't know me, Vess. Those who threaten the existence of my Consortium are normally killed. But I will break you. I will make you mine. You have no idea what I'm capable of and what I'm going to do to you. May I introduce my caretakers for troublesome prisoners of war such as yourself. Kothophed, Griselbrand, Razaketh and Belzenlok."


End file.
